Music & song✦Dance✦Drama✦Poetry & literature✦Visual arts
01 / THE MOVEMENT
Welcome to RAWA
A new renaissance. A more inspired world.
Art can do more than entertain. It can awaken humanity.
The Renaissance Artists and Writers Association is a worldwide movement of artists, writers, musicians, and creative people who want to use their talent to serve humanity. It promotes progressive art and literature with the theme of “Art is for Service and Blessedness”.
Founded by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Jii in 1958, RAWA brings artists and writers together to inspire social and spiritual awakening.
A global platform where creative expression becomes a force for collective progress.
02 / OUR PURPOSE
Create with meaning.
Developing the finer faculties of the human mind through music, song, dance, drama, poetry, and other literary works.
RAWA
01Refine the human mind
Encourage artistic expression that develops sensitivity, imagination, and the finer faculties of the human mind.
02Nurture subtle art
Encourage the subtler branches of art and literature, opening a deeper connection with beauty, love, and spiritual awareness.
03Inspire social change
Bring change in social values through art and literature, awakening social consciousness and a spirit of collective progress.
04Stand beside creators
Protect artists and writers from commercial exploitation, supporting creative work that serves humanity.
THE SPIRIT OF CREATIVE EXPRESSION
“
When artists, absorbed in the essence of love, try to convey it to the people through their language, rhetoric and subtle suggestions, the sweetness of their artistic genius reaches the apex of expression.
SHRII SHRII ANANDAMURTI JIIFounder of RAWA
03 / RAWA AROUND THE WORLD
Many places. One universal vision.
Many cultures. One creative spirit.
Music, dance, literature, and visual art speak in many languages. Across RAWA’s worldwide network, they share a common purpose: to awaken the heart and serve humanity.
A stage can become a meeting place for many forms of expression. At the 2022 RAWA programme in Connecticut, classical dance, Prabhat Samgiita, bhajans, Capoeira music, and a live abstract art demonstration were part of the celebration.
This is the spirit of RAWA: artists sharing their talents, discovering one another’s traditions, and bringing a community together.
RAWA’s 2024 conference programme at Ánanda Vipáshá in Italy explored music, poetry, visual art, and the role of creativity in social and spiritual progress. Its workshops offered artists and writers a shared creative environment.
RAWA’s Songs for Social Change project has recognised songwriters through competitions and compilation albums. Its 2022 finalists included artists from the United States, Australia, and India, sharing their voices through original music.
RAWAFest in Viamão–Porto Alegre, Brazil, was created as a platform for artists, educators, and community initiatives. It brought together music, dance, theatre, creative workshops, and ideas for social service and sustainable living.
The 2018 international gathering in Hong Kong featured three evenings of RAWA performances. Artists from across Asia and beyond shared Prabhat Samgiita, drama, traditional songs, and dance, alongside creative workshops.
Ananda Marga’s West Africa newsletter documents Côte d’Ivoire RAWA artists performing at the 2010 summer conference in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Cultural expression was part of a gathering that connected participants from several countries.
The Water Runners, a folk ensemble from New South Wales, were finalists in RAWA’s 2022 Songs for Social Change contest with “Water from the Well”. Their music blends Australian folk, bluegrass, country, and roots traditions.